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The PM40 closed Friday, 3 December 2021, at 4444.

Get the latest PM40 updates by listening to the weekly Nips show and the PM40 Daily Show on Pulp & Paper Radio International.

The PM40 closed 3 December 2021 up 26.8% from the 4 December 2020 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Clearwater Paper and Kimberly-Clark.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

You will seldom see me talking politics here, but this piece of legislation strikes close to home. Those praising this bill are a surprising lot, including many entities in industry. However, I suspect their praise is not so much from a political standpoint as it is from a desperation standpoint--one cannot get their goods to market if the bridges are falling down.

Start-up is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.

International technology group Andritz has successfully completed the start-up of a pressurized refining system supplied to Biyang Huifeng Wood Industry Board at its MDF production plant in Biyang, Henan province, China.

International technology group ANDRITZ has successfully started up a chemi-thermomechanical pulping system delivered to Sun Paper for its mill in the city of Beihai, Guangxi, China.

Bruks Siwertell has secured an order for a Bruks mobile chipper from J.D. Irving, Limited's Irving Woodlands division, one of the largest forestry land holders in Canada. It will process forest residues into mini chips for pellet production at J.D. Irving, Limited's Grand River Pellet plant in Saint Leonard, New Brunswick, Canada. It can also process forestry waste into biofuel chips for the plant's boilers.

Valmet will deliver the 100th latest generation Valmet Recovery Liquor Analyzer to Domtar's Hawesville integrated pulp and paper mill in the United States. Throughout the years, Valmet has supplied over 300 liquor analyzers to pulp mills.

Valmet will supply IQ quality control system to Ahlström-Munksjö Ställdalen AB in Sweden. The new system will replace the oldValmet has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the eighth consecutive year. The company was listed both in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe indices. The total number of companies included this year in the DJSI World for 2021-2022 is 322.

Valmet will supply IQ quality control system to Ahlström-Munksjö Ställdalen AB in Sweden. The new system will replace the old third-party system and will be installed on nonwoven machine FM2 to improve productivity and final quality.

When it comes to packaging and sustainability, consumers are clear: provide options to recycle more, make recycling easier and ensure the product is in fact recycled.

Stora Enso continues to develop the Trayforma range further and introduces a new solution for conventionally heated food packaging applications, featuring less than 10% PET plastic. Trayforma is a wood fibre-based material for ready meals packaging, enabling brand owners and retailers to switch from fully fossil-based materials to renewables.

Canfor Corporation announced it is providing $125,000 to the Canadian Red Cross' British Columbia Flood and Extreme Weather Appeal to support their response efforts.

Sustainable packaging leader DS Smith scored 67 in the 2021 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, reflecting an improvement of 16 points over the last year. (Score date: Nov 12, 2021).

Food banks around the U.S. are combatting food insecurity, which has dramatically increased since the beginning of the pandemic. International Paper, a leading producer of packaging and pulp products headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is proud to build on their #HelpFillTheBoxes campaign with a significant donation to Feeding America® to help combat this critical need in the communities where their employees live and work.

2021 marks Mercer Celgar's 60th anniversary in operation. As we reflect on our history, we remain squarely focused on rising to the challenges that we face as a sector, working hard to help build a more sustainable and positive economic future - for Castlegar, our surrounding communities, and the families that live within them.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has taken home a Hungaropack award for its sustainable paper-based FlexiBag at this year's contest organised by the Hungarian Association of Packaging and Materials Handling.

IQ EXTRALIGHT offers an excellent printability, folding performance and is developed for both web and sheet-fed offset printing.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has opened a new ISTA-certified laboratory at Mondi Bupak in České Budějovice (CZ), which is one of its Central European corrugated solutions flagship plants and a hub for development and production of eCommerce packaging.

National Gypsum® is donating a total of $1 million to support communities throughout the United States and Canada where National Gypsum Company and its family of affiliated companies, including Gold Bond Building Products, LLC, Gold Bond Canada, Ltd., PermaBASE Building Products, LLC, ProForm Finishing Products, LLC and Unifix Inc., have operations.

The Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box Ibi facility in Spain has started the production of bags with a new and more sustainable thermo-laminated metallised film - M-Compact 77.

Sonoco, one of the largest global diversified packaging companies, in partnership with Tellus Products, LLC, a company that produces USA grown and made, plant-based compostable packaging for foodservice products, announced the receipt of a prequalified label, Check Locally for recyclability from How2Recycle for the Natrellis line of food packaging.

JD. Irving Ltd. has been accused of using personal access to one of former U.S. president Donald Trump's cabinet secretaries to secure favorable treatment from the United States in the ongoing softwood lumber dispute.

The increase will be effective for all shipments made on or after the 13 th December 2021.

Officials from various Canadian governments and the lumber industry are expressing disappointment that the U.S. has decided to go ahead with a plan to double the amount of duty it imposes on softwood lumber that comes from Canada.

Metsä Fibre will be in charge of the plant's overall operations, while Gasum will see to the daily remote operation and maintenance of biogas processing. Gasum will purchase the biogas produced at the plant for use as transport fuel.

Paper Excellence, the company behind the restart of the local pulp mill, announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement with One Sky Forest Products to operate its new oriented strand board (OSB) operations at the existing Prince Albert mill site.

While the merger of Domtar and Paper Excellence has been approved by the Competition Bureau of Canada, part of the approval means the Kamloops pulp mill must be sold to a third party.

UPM continues to aim for business-specific collective bargaining with the Paperworkers' Union but has also begun preparations for arranging working conditions temporarily without a collective labour agreement until agreements with the union are signed. During this week UPM communicates the temporary terms of work to employees of businesses where the contractual party is the Paperworkers' Union.

WestRock Services LLC, a paper mill in Longview in Cowlitz County, has been fined almost $140,000 after one worker died and more than a dozen others were infected with COVID-19.

The new defendants include J.D. Irving Ltd. and 18 of its subsidiaries or related entities, NB Power, Acadian Timber, Twin Rivers Paper, H.J. Crabbe & Sons and A.V. Group. The companies are named in addition to the governments of New Brunswick and Canada.

Ahlstrom announced in May that they planned to invest $70 million in a new glass fiber tissue production line, creating almost 50 jobs in Madisonville.

A business that looks to turn used cardboard boxes and paper into pulp for export said Friday that it plans a $155 million complex near Savannah, hiring at least 117 people.

Manufacturer K.T.G. is looking to expand its Memphis operations, investing more than $21 million in a facility expansion, new equipment and the creation of 36 jobs. The average annual wage for the new jobs will be about $54,000.

Mondi, a leading global packaging and paper company, is investing €20 million to further improve the sustainability of its pulp production at the Frantschach mill in Austria. The mill, which is celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2021, has already been self-sufficient in terms of energy for many years and supplies surrounding communities and industrial companies with surplus heat from the pulp production process.

The planned investment is about JPY 5 billion ($44.2 million) and the planned commencement of operation is July 2023.

Governor Tom Wolf was on hand the ceremonial opening of Pratt Industries' advanced manufacturing box plant in Carlisle, Cumberland County. The new $150 million plant employs 215 workers in full-time manufacturing jobs.

Sappi has approved an investment in Kirkniemi Mill in Lohja, Finland which enables a switch in its energy sourcing to renewable bioenergy. With this investment the mill's direct fossil greenhouse gas emissions will reduce by ca. 90 percent, which is equivalent to 230 000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Chatham Asset Management on Monday raised its offer for RR Donnelley & Sons Co to $10.25 per share, hours after the printing company reaffirmed that it was sticking to a merger with investment firm Atlas Holdings.

Paper Excellence B.V. and Domtar Corporation jointly announced that they have received Canadian Competition Act approval for their business combination whereby Karta Halten B.V., an affiliate of Paper Excellence, will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Domtar common stock for $55.50 per share in cash pursuant to an agreement and plan of merger dated May 10, 2021 (the "Merger").

As part of Georgia-Pacific's commitment to maximizing long-term value for our customers and the company, GP has agreed to sell its chemicals business to Bakelite Synthetics.

Sustana is a leading manufacturer of specialty recycled fiber and sustainable packaging and paper products.

Interfor announced that it has reached an agreement with an affiliate of Kelso & Company ("Kelso") to acquire 100% of the equity interests of EACOM Timber Corporation ("EACOM").

Interfor and the Simpcw First Nation have completed the first direct transfer of a forest tenure to a B.C. First Nation since the introduction of the provincial government's Bill 22.

Domtar will operate as a stand-alone business entity within the Paper Excellence Group, with Domtar's current CEO and management team remaining in place. There are no further changes to operating locations, business plans, or Domtar's employee base at this time.

Since early summer the community of Park Falls has been hoping for a boost from the state of Wisconsin that would enable the city's shuttered paper mill to hang on, find new owners and reopen.

Last month, R.R. Donnelley said it agreed to sell itself to private-equity firm Atlas for $8.52 per share in cash.

UFP Industries announced that its affiliate, UFP Global Holdings Ltd., has acquired 70 percent of the equity in Ficus Pax Private Limited (Ficus Pax), a leading producer of industrial packaging in India, for approximately $13.5 million USD.

In October 2021, West Fraser has entered into an agreement to acquire the Angelina Forest Products lumber mill for approximately $300 million, subject to certain post-closing adjustments.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 21 filed a petition asking the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election for about 160 papermakers at the mill.

ND Packaging has officially opened its 350,000 Sq. Ft. corrugated packaging plant in southeastern Wisconsin. At full operation, this new facility will add more than 80 full-time job to the region.

Paper Excellence earlier announced a temporary curtailment of the Catalyst mill in Powell River, due in part to the additional supply chain interruptions caused by recent flooding, which followed a more long-term supply chain disruption caused by a global pandemic.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has awarded Red Leaf Pulp Ltd. $3.8 million to commercialize an innovative and game-changing pulping technology using wheat straw and other sustainable agricultural resources along with wood-based pulp in traditional applications.

After 206 employees lost their jobs at tiskʷat mill, Powell River is looking into new ways to get it up and running.

There is an ongoing debate regarding the use of biomass to fill energy needs and the impact it has on the environment.

The four-pillared APRIL2030 encompasses planned concrete actions to drive sustainability over the next decade.

The approval formally recognizes International Paper as a leader in the low-carbon transition, and makes the company one of the first North American organizations in the paper and packaging industry with approved targets, joining over 1,000 others across industries and around the world.

Stora Enso is extending its packaging offering with a new portfolio of bio-based foams from wood. The products are fully recyclable and can be used for protective and thermal packaging. Lightweight wood foams address the need for climate-friendly, renewable and circular cushioning materials in inner packaging.

The Company's pulp shipments have declined as a result of the recent weather-related transportation disruptions.

There may have to be a temporary curtailment at the Domtar Mill in Kamloops, because of ongoing washouts to rail lines and highways.

Crews were called to the Ahlstrom-Munksjö Thilmany Mill shortly before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov, 23.

Several fire engines responded to the scene.

Multiple fire departments helped put out an early morning fire on Nov. 23 at Sustana Fiber located in West De Pere.

Several agencies were at the scene of a fire at the West Fraser facility west of downtown in Cordele on Nov. 23.

The WestRock Paper and Packaging Company in Columbus, experienced a small blaze on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 30. The Columbus Fire Department (CFD) responded at approximately 4:00 p.m. to the report of a machine on fire.

They say operations will resume in the next few weeks for Paper Machine Number 2. Paper Machine Number 1, along with the balance of the mill, is expected to be fully operational early next year.

No workers or emergency responders were injured in a machine fire that grew to a three-alarm blaze at the Packaging Corporation of America facility in Harrisonburg late Tuesday night, Nov. 30, according to Michael Parks, city spokesman.

Paper Excellence warned that its customers may see pulp and paper delivery delays due to ongoing supply chain disruption in North America and particularly British Columbia.

Pratt Southeast Displays, has informed the N.C. Commerce Department that it is closing its Whitsett facility in Guilford County on Jan. 15, eliminating all 81 jobs.

Approximately 220 employees at West Fraser pulp facilities in Quesnel have been laid off due to flooding in southern B.C., says a company spokesperson.

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) announced the appointment of David Graham as president of Weyerhaeuser Company Limited, its wholly owned Canadian Subsidiary, effective January 1, 2022. Graham will report to Travis Keatley, senior vice president of Timberlands, and his appointment follows the planned retirement of Fred Dzida, who has served as president of the company's Canadian subsidiary since 2014 and will stay on through March 2022 to aid in the transition.

A worker at the Cascades containerboard packaging facility in Niagara Falls sustained serious injuries on Friday, November 19th when he got caught in a piece of heavy machinery.